Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the design maturity of the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme; and what the planned timescale is for providing design acceptance.

A comprehensive suite of rigorous tests continues, with Design Acceptance due in autumn 2021. Design Acceptance consists of Reliability Growth Trials, which are 75% complete, and Qualification and Verification trials. The Qualification and Verification trials, designed to test the system requirements, have allowed the Army customer to accept 52% of the design to date, with 95% of the requirements due to be submitted and accepted by summer 2021.

HM Government is undertaking the deepest and most radical Review of Britain’s foreign, security, defence, and development policy since the end of the Cold War. Final decisions on Warrior, along with all Defence Capabilities will be subject to this Review. This will include prioritising the capabilities most suited to the evolving character of conflict and to our future defence and security requirements. We do not expect to conclude these deliberations until the spring.